Power and Greatness
by Lastande Sarie
Summary: "There's more to greatness than power," she said. "If you don't love, if you don't care about people, all you have is your power. The ability to love - that's true greatness."


**Author's Note: This idea came to me while I was rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I sat down and wrote it all this evening, and I haven't even read over it since I finished it, so please excuse any typos. I wanted to hurry up and upload it while I had the chance! I appreciate all reviews...please let me know what you think, honestly (kindness is also greatly appreciated when it accompanies honesty!). **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't have any association with Harry Potter or J., other than fan fictions. If I did, I certainly wouldn't be writing fan fics. **

Her concentration broken, Amy slowly looked up from the book she was studying and blinked. A few of her fellow students walked by, the light from the setting sun throwing long shadows on the wall as they walked. Amy stretched and ran her fingers through her wavy light brown hair which was falling loose over her shoulders. She was curled up in her favorite studying spot on a settee in one of the many corridors of the school. This corridor was along the outer wall of the castle, and the wall opposite where Amy was sitting was lined with large open windows. A refreshing breeze blew in, ruffling the pages of Amy's book. She smiled; fall was one of her favorite times of the year.

Suddenly Amy realized what had interrupted her studying when a low snarl reached her ears from just outside the window directly across from her. Puzzled, she set her book aside and walked over to peer out the window. A few feet away, two young cats were wrestling playfully, hissing and snarling as they took swipes at each other without causing any damage. Amy leaned against the left side of the window frame, watching in amusement, the breeze gently fanning her hair out of her face.

"What's going on?" The low, smooth voice came from just behind Amy's ear, accompanied by a hand on her right shoulder.

"Cats playing," she answered simply. Amy looked over her shoulder to face the speaker. "Where have you been, Tom? I haven't seen you all day."

"I've been in the library for a few hours," the handsome, dark-haired boy replied. He turned a serious gaze from the cats to Amy's face. "I've been doing a lot of research lately."

Amy reached up with her right hand to cover his. "I noticed. I feel like I've hardly seen you at all lately." She tilted her head to the side. "Is it something I could help you with?"

She and Tom often studied together, but she rarely had to help him with anything and more often sought his help with homework. He was very smart, and Amy sometimes wondered why he hadn't been sorted into Ravenclaw with her. But then he would do or say something that reminded her of one reason why he belonged in Slytherin instead – he was bold, determined, clever, arrogant, and he never let anything get in his way. Amy admired his ambition, but she was concerned because lately he'd been saying things that disturbed her.

Tom seemed distant when he shrugged, staring at the sky. "I don't know. Maybe. We can talk about it later." He shook himself and gently squeezed Amy's shoulder. "Let's go to dinner. It's about to start."

Amy hadn't realized how hungry she was until Tom mentioned dinner. She gathered her things from where she'd been studying, slipped her hand into Tom's, and walked with him toward the Great Hall, trying to shove away the nagging feeling that something was going very wrong.

They didn't talk about it again until several days later. Amy had just finished her Potions essay and was just getting ready to leave the library when Tom walked in. He pecked her on the cheek and sank into the chair next to her.

"Leaving?" he asked.

"Yes, I just finished my essay and I was hoping to do some reading before bed." Amy smiled. "But now that you're here, maybe I'll stay."

Tom merely smiled back at her in a distracted sort of way, and Amy felt a twinge of concern in her stomach. He'd been acting more and more strangely lately and Amy was sure now that something was wrong, as much as she would have liked to continue pretending as though there weren't. She sighed and set her books back on the table.

"Tom, what's going on?"

"Hm?"

"You've been distant and…just weird for days now. When I talk to you it's like you're not listening, and when you talk to me you hardly seem to know what you're saying." Amy reached for his hand. "What's on your mind?"

He fixed her with a steady stare, really looking at her this time and not through her. Amy returned his gaze, waiting patiently for him to talk. He'd never been one to be open and talk about his deepest, darkest secrets. Amy knew he hadn't had an easy life and that he wrestled with things she couldn't begin to understand, having grown up in a loving wizarding family. Amy also knew that Tom didn't need her. He was fine on his own. But Amy was glad to be there for him anyway. He'd accepted her presence willingly enough and now even sought her out sometimes. She knew how to deal with his pensive moods, waiting them out and remaining by his side until he was back to normal – not that he was ever really lighthearted. Amy wasn't sure how to handle the mood he'd been in lately, though. It was so different from anything she was used to.

Finally Tom answered her question. "I don't know if you can help me. Somehow I doubt it." He looked away, glancing over the library bookshelves as he spoke. "I was doing some reading for class when I saw something mentioned that I didn't understand. So I've been researching it, but I still can't find what I'm looking for." The more he spoke, the more irritated he sounded. His voice remained soft and low, but the tension grew thick. "It has to be around here somewhere, with all the books we have in this school."

"Is it that important? Is it really bothering you that much?" Amy asked, puzzled. She could certainly understand the desire to learn, but she couldn't remember having seen anyone so agitated about something like this.

"Yes. It is important." Tom's tone and his eyes were steely. He was looking at Amy again, but she thought he probably wasn't really seeing her. "It's possibly one of the most important things I've ever tried to research before."

"Well…what is it?" The nervous feeling in the pit of Amy's stomach was intensifying. She wished she hadn't started this conversation.

"Maybe you've heard of it? You do come from a pureblood family, after all," Tom mused. "It's called a Horcrux."

Amy shook her head slowly. "No…I haven't a clue what that is. Where did you see it?"

Tom waved his hand vaguely. "Oh, just some book I was reading. It's some kind of magic. I need to know what it is."

"Why? Why is it so important to you to find out?" Amy asked, her tone pleading.

"I think it could make me very powerful," Tom answered. Then he stood up and left the library without another word. For reasons she couldn't explain, Amy felt tears gathering in her eyes.

Amy didn't even see Tom over the next few days. In fact, it was almost a week before she happened to stumble upon him flipping through a book in a secluded corridor of the castle. Amy saw him before he noticed her and she couldn't decide whether to try talking to him or not. Maybe he was avoiding her and that's why she hadn't seen him in so long. But, in the end, her concern for him outweighed her self-consciousness and she slowly approached him.

Tom didn't look up until she was standing right in front of him. He had a blank look on his face for a few seconds after lifting his eyes to hers, before it seemed to register for him who was standing there. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Hello, Amy."

"Tom, I'm worried about you," she blurted out.

"No need to be."

"You've been acting so strange…well, when I see you." Amy stumbled over her words. She hadn't really planned on saying any of this. "I haven't seen you in days, which is unusual in itself. When I do see you, you act distracted or angry or…" She trailed off. "You just seem…different."

"Maybe different isn't a bad thing," Tom replied coolly.

"But maybe it is," Amy whispered. "I don't know either way unless you tell me what's going on."

"I'm learning a lot, Amy," Tom explained slowly. "I'm reading and researching and finding things I never knew about the world. I'm growing. I know a lot more now than I did a week ago. Of course I'm going to be different."

Feeling helpless, and not sure what else to say, Amy asked, "What are you learning?"

An almost excited note crept into Tom's voice as he replied, "I'm learning about a lot of powerful magic that they don't teach at Hogwarts, that they don't even begin to touch on in their lessons here. I never realized how powerful I could be. I'm beginning to have an idea. The more I read, the more I want to know." His eyes blazing, Tom stated adamantly, "I want to be the most powerful wizard who ever lived. Someday, I will be."

Amy blinked. She'd known Tom was ambitious, but this was something else altogether. She didn't know what to make of the things he was saying, of that tone of voice, of that look in his eyes. He was not the Tom she used to know, and Amy didn't think she liked this new one. In fact, she thought he was rather frightening.

"Tom…there will be plenty of time for that once we're grown up. Why can't we just learn what they want us to learn first?"

"They're holding me back!" Tom said. He was frowning deeply, his eyes smoldering with anger. "There's so much more I want to know, but no one teaches it and they refuse to explain it to me. Did you know," he turned his gaze on Amy, "that Salazar Slytherin only wanted purebloods to attend Hogwarts? But the others, especially Godric Gryffindor," he practically spat the name, "wouldn't go along with his idea. I'm trying to understand why not. It sounds perfectly reasonable to me."

"What?" Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But you aren't even pureblood yourself, you're always complaining about your last name –"

"But that won't matter. I told you, I'm going to be the most powerful wizard who ever lived and everyone will have to respect me and do what I say."

Amy didn't know what to say. She was truly scared now.

"There's just so much more I want to know. I have lots of questions. If only I could find the right person to answer them."

"Tom, you're scaring me," Amy stuttered. "I've never heard you talk like this. Why is this suddenly so important to you?"

He slammed the book he was holding down onto the bench next to him and jumped to his feet. "Haven't I already explained? I want to be the greatest wizard ever."

Tears pooled in Amy's eyes and she backed away, her lower lip shaking. "There's more to greatness than power."

"What?" Tom was seething now.

"Just having power isn't going to make you great," Amy told him, lifting her chin. She was still taking small steps backwards. "If you don't care about people, then you aren't great. If you don't l-love…" She stammered to a stop. Then Amy took a deep breath. "Tom, I love you."

"_What._" He spoke in a deathly serious whisper.

Amy began to sob. "I l-love you, T-tom…but if all you c-care about is p-power…" She wiped her eyes and tried to calm down. "If power is the only thing that matters to you, then I don't know you anymore. We can't…I can't be around you anymore. It would be too painful."

"But I'm going to be great," Tom said, as though it were the obvious answer.

"Not if you can't love. If you don't love. If you don't care about people, all you will have is your power. And that will be it." Amy blinked hard, willing him to say the right thing.

"Power is all that matters," Tom shot back. "Without power, we're just as bad as Muggles. Without power, we can never be great."

Amy shook her head. "Tom…the ability to love…that is true greatness. And that is something you'll never have." Amy turned her back on him, knowing this was the end. "Goodbye, Tom Riddle."


End file.
